


Keep it Simple

by NamelesslyNightlock



Series: Going Down Swinging [29]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Adorkable, Apples of Idunn, Declarations Of Love, Domestic Fluff, Dorks in Love, Established Relationship, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mindless Fluff, Nervous Tony Stark, Romantic Fluff, Soft Boys, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Vows
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-02 22:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,163
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21168887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NamelesslyNightlock/pseuds/NamelesslyNightlock
Summary: Tony is going to pop a rather important question– or, he’s trying to at least, but. Loki keepsinterrupting him.





	Keep it Simple

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to **Rouko** for putting up with me as I whined about titles for what was probably about an hour xD  
  
(And, yeah, this is another prompt I looked at, thought 'this could be angst' and then decided to make it... decidedly _not_.)  
  
**Prompt**— _“It’s okay to cry.”_

Tony hadn’t felt this nervous since… well, since _ever,_ really. After all, everything about Loki always heightened his emotions to a level that left other interactions in the dirt, so the nervousness he was feeling skyrocketed to all new levels just for that. Especially since every other moment with Loki that probably should have been nerve-wracking simply… wasn’t, because being with Loki had always been so easy– from when they had first become friends when Loki had come to live in the Tower as part of his penance, to when their lips had first pressed together mid conversation, to the ‘I love you’s that had slipped out while they were curled together in bed. Everything about being with Loki was everything that Tony ever wanted– which was why Tony had decided to make the next move.

He knew that it was the biggest decision he had ever made. It was bigger than Iron Man, bigger than shutting down the weapons division of SI, and bigger than the Avengers – at least, in terms of how it affected _him_. And yet, despite all that, it was easily the surest he had been about anything in his life.

It wasn’t indecision that caused the trembling of his fingers. It was…

Well, it wasn’t really the fear of rejection either, because he _knew_ how Loki felt about him. He had long since handed Loki his heart, and he knew that it was well looked after.

So why _was_ he nervous?

Unfortunately, knowing there was nothing to be nervous about didn’t make the nervousness go away, and he was stuck with the tremors as he walked out of the elevator and into the penthouse. Loki was right where he had been when Tony had left him a mere ten minutes earlier, after JARVIS had informed them that Thor had returned and was asking for Tony. He still sprawled over the couch, with his legs dangling off one end and his head resting on the armrest at the other. He glanced up the moment he heard Tony approaching and lowered his book to his chest, his lips curving into a warm smile.

“That was quick,” Loki said. “Thor normally talks for far longer.”

“Yeah, well.” Tony shrugged. “I was in a hurry to get back.”

Loki’s smile widened, and he shifted slightly on the cushions, pressing more against the back of the couch and making room for Tony to lie back down, so they could return to the position they had been in before.

It was so very inviting, and Tony went to move forward– but then he paused, because he knew that he _shouldn’t_. He had decided from the very beginning that if he was going to do this, then he was going to do it _properly_.

Of course, for most people, doing it properly probably would have involved an expensive candlelit dinner, or a visit to Paris, or a gaudy ring hidden in a cake– but Tony knew that they didn’t need any of those things. It had always been that way between them, moments that could have been _occasions_ simply sliding in among the normal, and with the backdrop of all the chaos that was their lives a little normal was more than welcome, when it was for something as important as this.

So for Tony… doing it properly meant keeping one hand behind his back with his fingers tightly curled around that precious item he had retrieved from Thor, as he lowered to the ground one knee pressing into the thick rug with the other leaned against the front of the couch.

Loki was watching in confusion, a small crease between his brows. “Anthony?” he asked.

“Lokes,” Tony said, smiling softly, still feeling nervous. He lifted his free hand to curl around one of Loki’s, gently lifting it from the book so that he could hold it properly. “Have I told you yet today that I love you?”

Loki still looked bemused, but he smiled softly nonetheless. “Yes,” he said. “More than once.”

“Good,” Tony said. “That’s… good.” He paused for a moment, considering what to say next, but before he had landed on a solid answer Loki was speaking again.

“Is everything okay?” Loki asked, letting go of his book entirely so that he could wrap his other hand around Tony’s as well, so that he was holding it between both of his, his expression just beginning to border on concern.

“Yes, everything is perfect,” Tony promised him. “I’m just trying to find the words.” He let out a short laugh, and shook his head lightly. “Perhaps I should have planned this a little better, but then, I’ve never really been a person for plans. I thought that when I got here, down on one knee in front of _you_, I would just know what to say– but it turns out that coming up with something perfect is harder than it seems in the movies.” Tony’s breath escaped him in a long sigh, and Loki squeezed his hand.

“I never thought I would see the day when you were lost for words,” Loki said, his tone teasing but his gaze still a little worried.

“I’ll find them eventually,” Tony muttered. “It shouldn’t be this hard, because I know what you are to me, and I know what I want. I know that there’s nothing I want more than to see you smile. I even know that waking up beside you makes me want to shift to more normal sleep schedule. And I know that I love you, more than anything.”

“I love you, too,” Loki said, tilting his head with a slight frown. “Anthony, I love you more than I ever thought myself capable of, more than I have ever loved anyone or anything else. There is nothing that I wouldn’t do for you.”

“You’re stealing my thunder a little here,” Tony complained, and Loki smiled.

“Good. I do not know what brought this on, but I wished to say as well that I love you, Anthony. Living here with you has been a blessing, a happiness that I never imagined that I ever could have—”

“I didn’t start this as a tit for tat—”

“Well that does not matter, I should be allowed to—”

“Loki, will you just let me speak for a minute?” Tony whined. “I’m trying to ask you to marry me, okay? Let me finish.”

Loki froze, suddenly going breathless, whatever he had been about to say vanishing in an instant. “You’re _what?”_

Tony pinned him with a fond glare, and Loki’s eyes went round– but he remained silent, so Tony continued.

“I was trying to explain that there’s nothing I want more than to have all those things every day,” Tony tried. “That there’s nothing I want more than…” he trailed off, his teeth gritting together. Everything he could think of just seemed so cliché, so horribly sappy that it almost sounded false, even to his own ears. He wanted his speech to sound _true_, not overexaggerated.

“Anthony, your words… you don’t have to worry,” Loki said into the pause, speaking up once again– and Tony supposed that he shouldn’t be surprised. But Loki’s voice was softer than before, his green eyes shining. “They’re perfect the way they are. Just say what you feel.”

“But what I’m feeling is so… intense, that it’s hard to find the words to describe it,” Tony explained. “Loki, I love you. I don’t think there is a word that means more than that, I don’t think that I can improve it. But it just, it doesn’t feel _big_ enough– no,” he stopped himself. “No, that’s not– Loki, what I’m feeling for you right now? It’s not big, it’s just _everything_. Everywhere I look, everything I see, all that I can see is you. I look around the penthouse, and I imagine spending the next few years with you here at my side, with us in our bed, or in the kitchen, or lying here on the couch– just being together in the best way, in the way that we already are because I can’t think of how we could make it better. I look out at the city, and I see all the places that I want to visit with you, so that we can watch a show or walk in the park. I look at the sky, and I imagine travelling the stars with you forever. There’s nothing I want more than to just be by your side, Loki, for as long as I am able. And if that is for five more years, or for five thousand– either way, I just want to spend every moment of it with you.”

Loki’s eyes were a little damp at that, and his grip on Tony’s hand was tight enough that Tony could feel the press of his bones. Tony smiled, and squeezed his fingers, wishing he had a free hand so that could reach up and cup Loki’s cheek.

“It’s okay to cry, Lokes,” Tony said, his grin wide. “I know my words ended up being just so awesome that they—”

“Oh, quiet,” Loki huffed, though his eyes _were_ a little watery, and Tony leaned forward to bring their lips together, just the smallest brush of skin that felt just as good as every other all the same– and the knowledge of what Tony was about to do, what Tony was in the _process_ of doing was more than enough to make the kiss taste all the sweeter.

And when they leaned away, they both stayed a little closer than they had been before.

“You still haven’t asked me a question,” Loki whispered, his thumb starting to stroke the skin on the back of Tony’s hand. He must have been suspicious by now about the hand that Tony was still holding behind his back, but his gaze remained locked with Tony’s, his usually sharp green eyes glowing with soft emotion.

But… before Tony could ask the question, there was just one more thing that he needed to do.

“On Earth, there’s a tradition to exchange rings as a symbol of binding two people together,” Tony said. “And… well, there are probably some alternatives we can try, but I really can’t wear a ring– not only would it get damaged in the workshop, it would be dangerous. So, instead, I thought I might ask you with something that maybe means a little _more.”_

“Anthony,” Loki said his tone laced with incredulity and hope. “Why did you see Thor earlier?”

Tony smiled fondly. Loki never had been slow on the uptake– and Tony knew that the question really didn’t need to be answered.

“Loki,” he said instead, speaking firmly. “I want you to know that I _have_ thought about this, and that this is a decision that hasn’t been made lightly. I’ve spoken to Thor about it, and I know exactly what it means. It also isn’t a condition on your answer– I will marry you either way, whether you would like me to do this or not. I love you more than anything, and I meant it when I said I want to spend as many years with you as I can, regardless of how many they are… though of course, I would prefer that to be as many as possible, as long as it is something that you want as well.”

Loki’s lips were parted slightly, and Tony’s smile deepened as he finally lifted his hand to show Loki the golden apple that he cradled between his fingers.

“So, what do you say, Lokes?” he asked. “Will you marry me?”

Loki surged forward, one hand letting go of Tony’s to bury in his hair and pull him into a kiss. It was as different from the earlier kiss as could be, and yet it was exactly the same– because even though it was gasps and tongues and wandering hands, it still ached with the same passion, the same love, the same commitment.

“Loki,” Tony laughed, his smile bright against Loki’s lips. “You haven’t actually—”

“Yes,” Loki said, the single syllable ringing through the air as leaned in to kiss Tony again– “Yes.” – and again. “_Yes_, Anthony,” Loki vowed. “Yes, I will marry you, I will spend the rest of my life with you. You are everything to me as well, and I do not wish to be parted from you, not for anything.”

They moved apart only long enough for Tony to eat the apple, Loki watching reverently as he savoured every bite. And then, Tony finally pushed off from his aching knee and joined Loki on the couch, their arms winding around each other and holding tight.

They didn’t need to do anything special to mark the moment– they knew its importance, and it was perfect just as it was. And lying curled there together, they didn’t need anything more than each other to know that their future looked long and bright.


End file.
